Replacement flush valves



March 28, 1961 P. J. BREWINGTON REPLACEMENT FLUSH VALVES Filed May 29, 1959 inviti@ FIG.

FIG. 2

INVENTOR United States Patent REPLACEMENT FLUSH VALVES Philip J. Brewington, 106 E. 46th St., Austin 5, Tex.

Filed May 29, 1959, Ser. No. 816,799

4 Claims. (Cl. 457) This invention relates to replaceemnt ush valves and has for its principal object the provision of such a valve eminently suited for ready replacement, by an inexperienced operator such as a home owner generally familiar With do-it-yourself projects, of an unsatisfatcory xture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a replacement unit which can be used with any of the flush balls now on the market Iand is readily adaptable for replacing an old unit even where the latter has become badly out of plumb.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a replacement unit so that the usual problems of corrosion and of the building up of deposits of insoluble carbonates are avoided and which, by assuring that the flush ball shall always drop directly down upon its seat, prevents the loss of water which frequently occurs when the ball is permitted to fall slightly offset from the axis of the seat; to provide a unit that can be installed without the necessity of interfering in any way with the usual lock nut which fastens the old assembly to the bottom of the tank water reservoir; and the provision of means whereby to adjust the ush ball as to the amount of water to be discharged at each time of use.

While the present invention requires the use of a material of the general type of plaster of Paris, an epoxy plastic, etc., such suitable materials are readily available in plastic bags having full direction for use, including the proper amount of water to be added, and the method of kneading the bag to obtain the desired mass of sealing cementitous material so that an inexperienced worker may be sure of success even without need for a mixing vessel, a stirring rod, and especially the need for cleaning up the surroundings and the users hands after completion of the work as the -use of the plastic bags allows one to place the mixture in the exact location desired as they work in about the same manner as a baker decorates his cake by squeezing his edible material through a small opening in a flexible conical container. This method of application allows the user to avoid getting the sealing compound into the water courses or other places that must be kept free but placing the compound exactly where wanted, under the old boss which held the old overflow tube, tightly within the retaining ange so as to avoid air holes or other cavities, and iilling the space all around the customary aring mouth of the old casting which is held by the lock nut. The various water courses of the old assembly are lled with temporary packings of desired character to facilitate the task of keeping them free of the sealing compound.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical section through a xture in which a new replacement part has been installed over a portion of the old worn-out valve structure which has largely been removed.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing the cutting plane on which Fig. l is taken.

The main body or valve base l is preferably of plastic rather than of metal such as brass as the plastic is not ice only considerably cheaper in initial cost but also avoids electrolysis, corrosion, and the formation of deposits of the insoluble carbonates frequently present in hard water. Integral with the base and to one side of the seat 2 is a nipple or boss 3 to receive an overflow pipe. Opposite the Iboss 3 is a tall vane 4 with slight turned-in edges 6, and having a rubber stop 7 at its upper end. The flange 5 extending downward from the base is preferably inturned as illustrated -to present a somewhat conical shape the better to anchor the cementitious or plaster seal which holds the new unit to the tank bottom.

The overow pipe 8 while preferably of smooth plastic tubing may be of metal. coiled as at 9 and having a vertical continuation extending to the usual trip lever (not shown). The coil 9 engages the top disk 12 of a spool comprising in addition a stem 13 and a lower disk 14. The stem extends below the latter and is threaded to receive the flush ball 1'5, of readily obtainable type, having a at top so that when screwed on the stem 13 of the spool the joint between the parallel surfaces of the top of the ball and the bottom of the lower disk 14 will be a firm one insuring that no water may get into the threads.

Since the ball is guided by both of the turned-in edges 6 of the vane 4 and the overflow pipe 8, the zone 16 willv engage the seat 2 correctly as the base 1 of the replacement valve is always made level even though this should necessitate there being a slight angle away from parallelism with the bottom of Ithe tank, should the latter be somewhat out of plumb. Normally however the stem 13 of the spool will be coaxial with the threaded neck 21 of the old discharge pipe 23 leading to the toilet bowl (not shown). As best seen in Fig. 2 the edges 6 of the vane subtend approximately a right angle so the three contact points for the disks 12 and 14 are well spaced apart. 4

An important feature of this invention lies in the lack of necessity to unscrew the old lock nut 24 which binds the discharge pipe 23 and its water course 22 to the tank bottom 27. Any attempt to unscrew this lock nut 24 isv apt to lead to disaster, for although when left yas it is with the gaskets tightly in place, it will give no trouble, it is usually so badly corroded that it is extremely ditlicult if not impossible to remove it without serious damage to the ixture. Hence in making the replacement the old overow tube is unscrewed and its holding boss is broken oi at about the point 25, this being an easy task as the galvanic action due to the proximity of the two different metals has usually insured an amount of corrosion at this juncture that a relatively smooth edge may easily be left to meet the bottom 26 of the new overow pipe 8. The rubber O-ring 11 is not an essential but does aid in helping to hold the pipe in position while the valve base l is being maneuvered into exactly the location desired with the seat 2 and the pipe 8 alined with the old parts.

In assembling the new fixture, the ball 15 is screwed on the stem 13 and the -rubber stop 7 is then inserted, the coil 9 being on the pipe 8 held temporarily by the ring 11. The old parts having been broken olf as stated, and with the usual temporary packing in place, the sealing compound is applied to both the old and new parts, well around the flaring seat 19 of the old pipe 23 and into the angular groove 18 with the sealing compound 17 smoothed as at 20 to direct water into the discharge pipe 23. After the plaster of Paris or other sealing compound has become set and hardened, the coil 9 is rotated about the pipe 8 as a screw so as to position the point of engagement 2S with the upper disk l2 so that any given amount of water may be discharged at each operation, this being useful in such localities as normally have a short supply of water. The upper reach of wire 10 may then be secured to the trip lever to secure the oat assembly at the desired On it slides a Wire helically A 3 distance above the seat 2, this distance beingv shown i'ri full lines at its highest point, the ball 15 always falling directly down toits seat 2 as indicated in the dotted' lines.

I claim:

yl. A replacement valve unit for use over a tank bottom having' secured thereto a discharge pipe and' a connected water course, comprising a at -base having a valve seat therein, a conical ange extending downwardly and in- Wa'rdly from the base, an overow pipe, means extending upwardly fromV the base to receive and support the overflow pipe, a curved guiding vane extending upward from the base diametrically opposite the overow pipe, a ilush ball, a spool comprising two parallel disks connected by a vertical rod threaded at its lower end and extending through the lower disk to provide a threaded stud to receive the llush ball, said spool being slidable vertically above the seat and guided by the edges of the vane and by the overflow pipe, and a helix of wire loosely slidable on the'overow pipe to engage the spool to raise the ush ball off of its seat.

2. The unit of claim l in which the vane has a turnedin edge at each side to provide a small area of contact with the circular ends of the spool, and these two edges subtend approximately a right angle, whereby the sliding friction contact is kept at a minimum.

3. The valve unit of claim 1 in which `the base, the

ange, the upwardly extending means and the vane are an integral' piece of plastic, the said upwardly extending means is a hollow cylinder, and the ange is peripheral andY extends inwardly toward its free bottom edge to facilitate holding a sealing cementitious material to secure the unit to a portion of the replaced tixture with the seat coaxial with the discharge pipe and the upwardly extending means and the overflow pipe alined with the water course.

4. In combination, a tank bottom having affixed thereto a discharge pipe and a connected water course; and a replacement unit, said unit having a base to overlie the discharge pipe and the Water course, an inwardly directed downwardly extending flange around the edge of the base, a nipple extending upward from the base in alinement with the free end of the watercourse, a Hush =ball having a seat in the base in alinement with the discharge pipe, means for guiding the ball to its seat, and cementitious material between the unit and tank bottom to secure the unit -to the tank bottom.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS '999,619 Young Aug. 1, 1911 2,668,960 Barrett-Lennard Feb. 16,` 1954 A FOREIGN PATENTS 81.154 Denmark Aug. zo, 1956 

